The official reason given for the recall is that the “Handlebar width exceeds the maximum standard requirement.” This is in accordance to an existing but apparently rarely implemented safety guideline in Australia that no handlebar should measure wider than 700mm.

Why these handful of models from Giant have been singled out is not entirely clear at this point.

We certainly can’t think of any current off-the-peg mountain bikes that come with handlebars that don’t break the safety regulations. Even XC bikes generally come specced with 720mm wide bars at least.

The product recall advises any customers affected (ie. anyone who owns one of the bikes listed above) to take their pride and joy back to their local Giant/Liv dealer to have the bars “modified”.